The View bar

Previous/Next View

Displays the previous/next view in the viewing history stack that was created by a pan, zoom, scroll, projection, perspective, standard view, or custom view change; the application keeps track of up to 50 views.

Alternatively, select View > Previous View or View > Next View to move through the viewing history stack.

On a Windows system with a five-button mouse, buttons 4 and 5 on the mouse (which invoke the Back and Forward commands in web browsers) invoke Previous View and Next View, respectively.

Classes

The shortcut opens the Classes tab of the Organization dialog box. The list displays the active class. Click to select a different class from the list or create a new one.

When a new class is created, it does not become the active class.

To filter the list:

Enter text in the search box to filter by name.

Select a filter from the bottom of the list. If the filter list is closed, click the button to open it.

The list of classes provides the following information:

An icon to the left of each name indicates the current visibility setting of the class (see Visibility columns for more information).

A disclosure arrow to the left of the class name indicates that the class has subgroups that can be selected individually (for example, a wall class with exterior and interior subgroups).

To turn off hierarchical display of classes, see Vectorworks preferences: Session pane.

On Mac only, if a description was entered for the class, it displays in a screen tip when you position the cursor over the class name.

Layers

Depending on whether a design layer or sheet layer is active, the shortcut opens either the Design Layers tab or the Sheet Layers tab of the Organization dialog box. The list displays the active layer. Click to select a different layer from the list or create a new one.

When a new layer is created, it becomes the active layer.

To filter the list:

Enter text in the search box to filter by name.

Select a filter from the bottom of the list. If the filter list is closed, click the button to open it.

The list of layers provides the following information:

The area to the left of each name indicates the view and visibility of the layer. Depending on the view, any of the following icons can display for design layers; sheet layers are always in Top/Plan view:

The visibility of the layer is indicated as follows:

Black icon: the layer is visible
Gray icon: the layer is grayed
No icon: the layer is invisible

Referenced design layers display in italics.

On Mac only, if a description was entered for the layer, it displays in a screen tip when you position the cursor over the layer name. If the layer is referenced, the full layer name and the source file name also display in the screen tip.

Planes

Displays the current working plane; other plane options on the list depend on the current tool and view.

Select the layer plane or a saved location to change the working plane location, or select Automatic to enable the automatic working plane feature. See Accessing existing working planes.

Select Options to enable legacy 2D features. See Document preferences: Legacy 2D tab.

Saved Views 

Select a saved view from the list to activate it.

Enter text in the search box to filter the list.

Select Edit View to open the Saved Views tab of the Organization dialog box, or select Save View to open the Save View dialog box; see Creating or editing saved views using the saved views menu.

Layer Scale 

The shortcut opens the Layer Scale dialog box; the scale of the active design layer displays to the right. See Changing the scale of the drawing or the active design layer.

Fit to Page Area

Displays the whole drawing (all pages) in the drawing window; see Fit to page area

Fit to Objects

Zooms in or out so that all of the objects in a drawing are visible. If an object or objects are currently selected, the zoom is relative to those objects; see Fit to objects.

Zoom In/Out

Click the shortcut to double the magnification of the drawing; to reduce the magnification of the drawing by one-half, use Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac). The zoom centers on any objects that are selected; if nothing is selected, the zoom centers on the last empty spot that was clicked. See Zooming from the View bar. The Current Zoom list zooms in or out by the zoom factor that is selected or entered; this option is available when the Zoom - Long option is selected from the View bar menu

Working Plane Views

Displays global coordinate views based on X’, Y’, and Z’ axes. In any standard view, and when switching views, such as to Top or Front, the view is based on the working plane position rather than the layer plane position. For a rotated top/plan view (Vectorworks Design Suite product required), switching to a view such as Front will take into account the rotated plan view and display a rotated Front view.

Active Layer Plane Views

Displays working plane coordinate views (such as Top or Front) based on X, Y, and Z axes. In any standard view, and when switching views, the view is based on the active layer plane position.

If switching from a rotated top/plan view (Vectorworks Design Suite product required), an alert message provides the option to enable Working Plane Views mode instead.

Current View/ Standard Views 

Displays the current view, and activates a standard view (such as Top) that is selected from the list; see Using standard views. If the view is not standard (for example, if the Flyover tool was used), Custom View displays.

Rotated View

(Design Suite product required)

Rotates the plan view by the angle specified; see Rotating the plan

Multiple View Panes

Toggles the use of multiple view panes; see Using multiple drawing views

Projections

Displays the current projection, and activates a projection (such as 2D Plan) that is selected from the list; see Projection

Render Modes

If the current render mode has options, the shortcut displays the appropriate options dialog box; this option is available when the Render Mode - Long option is selected from the View bar menu. The list displays the current render mode, and activates a render mode selected from the list; select Options for Other Render Modes to access the options for a particular mode. See Rendering modes.

Current Data Visualization

Displays a list of data visualizations to apply (including <None> to display the drawing with its attributes) and contains data visualization commands for Viewing the drawing by data or by attributes

View bar menu

Selects the options to display on the View bar